International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
IJTLHE
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
IJTLHE
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
IJTLHE
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
IJTLHE
2016: Volume 28 Number 1

Abstract: How a student conceives the nature of a subject they study affects the approach they take to that study and ultimately their learning outcome. This conception is shaped by prior experience with the subject and has a lasting impact on the student's learning. For subsequent education to be effective, an instructor must link the current topic to the student's prior knowledge. Short of assessing their students, an instructor relies on their subjective experience, intuitions, and perceptions about this prior knowledge. These perceptions shape the educational experience. The current study explores, in the context of undergraduate mathematics, the alignment of instructors' perceptions of student conceptions of mathematics and the students' actual conceptions. Using a version of the Conceptions of Mathematics Questionnaire, instructors of lower-year courses were found to have overestimated, while upper-year course instructors underestimated, their students' fragmented conceptions of mathematics. Instructors across all years underestimate their students' cohesive conceptions. This misalignment of perspectives may have profound implications for practice, some of which are discussed.

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Abstract: This study examines McGraw-Hill Higher Education’s LearnSmart online textbook supplement and its effect on student exam performance in an interpersonal communication course. Students (N = 62) in two sections were either enrolled in a control group with no required LearnSmart usage or a treatment group with requisite LearnSmart assignments. Aggregated exam scores were compared using independent sample t tests. Results indicate that the control and treatment groups scored similarly on the exams with no significant differences; however, patterns of findings reflected a trend of higher scores in the treatment condition. Students utilized the tool primarily as a study aid and generally were satisfied with the online resource except for the perceived value. Suggestions for administration of the LearnSmart tool are provided.

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Abstract: Strong arguments have been forwarded for embedding academic writing development into the UK higher education curriculum and for subject tutors to facilitate this development (Hyland, 2000; Lea & Street, 2006; Monroe, 2003; Wingate, 2006). This small-scale case study explores subject tutors’ practices and beliefs with regard to the provision of feedback on aspects of student teachers’ academic writing. Data are derived from a content analysis of student essays and associated tutor feedback, along with semi-structured interviews with faculty of education tutors in a new university. Findings, presented within Bourdieu’s framework (cited in Shay, 2005) for understanding shared and varied practice, indicate that although there is consensus on the importance of academic literacy, variations in tutors’ knowledge and positions lead to variations in practice with regard to how much feedback is given, on what, and how. Questions are raised about quality and standards and implications for best practices are discussed.

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2016 - Research Article
Coffman, K., Putman, P., Adkisson, A., Kriner, B., Monaghan, C.
Views: 1209       [2077]
Abstract: This qualitative study examined the identity of doctoral students in their quest to become scholars. The research question asked: What impact did a Community of Practice have on the doctoral students? The findings illustrated that on the journey the participants struggled to integrate multiple identities and roles. They also refined their identities within the liminal spaces of the doctoral process and the Community of Practice (CoP). The CoP provided validation to help the participants grow and emerge into scholars as they built relationship through the many opportunities they used to co-create knowledge for themselves and others. Under the guidance and direction of an expert and scholar in the field, we held the vision of becoming experts within our respective subject areas, trusting the CoP to facilitate the process of our transformation into scholars.

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Abstract: This study investigates team teaching between student teachers and mentors during student teachers’ field experiences. A systematic literature search was conducted, which resulted into a narrative review. Three team teaching models could be distinguished: (1) the co-planning and co-evaluation model, (2) the assistant teaching model, and (3) the teaming model. Implementing these models during student teachers’ field experiences shows benefits for student teachers (e.g., support and professional and personal growth), mentors (e.g., professional and personal growth), and learners in the classroom (e.g., few disciplinary problems and a wide variety of teaching styles). However, disadvantages were found as well. Finally, suggestions for a successful implementation of team teaching were made. By providing an overview of the literature on team teaching between student teachers and mentors, this study contributes to theory development about team teaching. Moreover, it may inspire teacher educators to implement team teaching. Our study may also inspire other higher education programs in which field experiences are essential.

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As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2016 - Research Article
Picard, M., Velautham, L.
Views: 1155       [2098]
Abstract: This paper describes an action research project to develop online, self-access listening resources mirroring the authentic academic contexts experienced by graduate university students. Current listening materials for English as an Additional Language (EAL) students mainly use Standard American English or Standard British pronunciation, and far fewer materials use Australian or regional accents. Materials are also simplified or spoken at a slower speed, emphasizing comprehension-type questions, despite the fact that literature reveals effective listening development involves practice in real-life listening contexts. Academic listening materials conversely emphasize the formal lecture and development of note-taking skills. We developed a range of activities where listening input was accompanied by materials reflecting top-down and bottom-up strategies as well as other cognitive and meta-cognitive skills. Materials were developed over two action research cycles involving EAL research student participants. Paper-based exercises were trialed and then developed into online materials where students could create their own listening materials and build portfolios. Results from the participants in the workshops/focus groups indicate they were able to develop their listening skills independently because of the explicit and focused approach of the materials. However, even more explicit and simple instructional design was needed when translated into the online environment.

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As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2016 - Research Article
Willits, F., Brennan, M.
Views: 967       [2102]
Abstract: Writing in 1990 for the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education, Ernest Boyer described the importance of strengthening the colleges and universities as vital communities of learning by emphasizing six critical dimensions or characteristics of campus life: educationally purposeful, open, just, disciplined, caring, and celebrative. Boyer’s work was widely discussed and provided a framework for change as administrators across the country sought to meet the new and emerging challenges of their institutions. How successful have these efforts been? To what extent do instructors and students see their campuses as exemplifying these principles? Is there evidence of changes across time in their views? Survey data collected in 1995-97 and 2011-12 from instructors and students at Penn State University’s main campus and its satellite campuses found a sizable increase over time for both groups in the proportion who viewed their campuses as having the attributes of a Community of Learning.

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Abstract: Promoting students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) is one way to improve postsecondary student success. However, few studies have investigated the instructional practices of postsecondary instructors that may support students’ SRL. This study sought to fill this gap. An undergraduate mathematics course was observed to determine instruction utilized in classrooms that could influence students’ SRL. Results showed that instructor references were made to four areas of SRL: (a) cognition; (b) motivation and affect; (c) behavior; and, (d) context. The majority of references concerned cognition and fewer messages addressed motivation. Findings are discussed in terms of postsecondary instructional practices that may foster students’ SRL. This project is significant because it developed an observation protocol to assess instructional practices that may support college students’ SRL in specific college courses: the Self-Regulated Learning Observation Protocol (SRLOP).

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As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


Abstract: The development of the 21-item Learner Awareness Levels Questionnaire (LALQ) was carried out using data from three separate studies. The LALQ is a self-reporting questionnaire assessing how and why students learn. Study 1 refined the initial pool of items to 21 using exploratory factor analysis. In Study 2, the analysis showed evidence for a four-factor solution (Survival, Establishing Stability, Approval, and Love of Learning). Results of the structural equation modelling and confirmatory factor analysis in Study 3 provided further support for the results obtained from Study 2 and also indicated a higher order Learner Awareness factor. Internal consistency for the four factors was within an acceptable range. The results of Study 3 showed that the questionnaire appeared to be a reliable instrument to measure how and why students learned because the structural equation model fit the questionnaire data well and the confirmatory factor analysis had good fit indices within an acceptable range.

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As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2016 - Research Article
Brown, S., White, S., Power, N.
Views: 971       [2114]
Abstract: Academic content common to health science programs is often taught to a mixed group of students; however, content assessment may be consistent for each discipline. This study used a retrospective cluster analysis on such a group, first to identify high and low achieving students, and second, to determine the distribution of students within clusters based on their chosen program of study. Using a two-step cluster analysis based on five summative assessment scores for 773 undergraduate students, three distinct groups of students were identified: these are described as High Achievers, Standard Achievers, and Low Achievers. High Achievers scored higher in all five assessments compared with Standard Achievers and Low Achievers (all P < 0.01). Also, Standard Achievers scored higher than Low Achievers in all assessments. Membership of the High Achievers cluster comprised 15% Midwives, 20% Nurses, 10% Occupational Therapists, 11% Paramedics, 24% Physiotherapists, and 21% Standard Pathway students. This novel approach provides an opportunity for quantitative reflection on assessment in a large group of students with diverse career aspirations. It may be used to distinguish levels of achievement relative to peers within a group and potentially identify students within a program of study in need of academic assistance.

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Abstract: This study examined the impact of explicit instruction on metacognitive reading strategies among 18 K-8 teacher candidates in a literacy methods course. They received weekly explicit intervention about these strategies over one semester. Collected data included pre- and post-scores of the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI) before and after intervention, quickwriting notes, literacy lesson plans, and reflection papers. The results showed that the teacher candidates increased their awareness of metacognitive reading strategies after the intervention. They also shared their positive attitudes toward learning about these strategies and plan to implement them in their future classrooms.

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2016 - Instruction Article
Muñoz, J., Culton, K.
Views: 1006       [2072]
Abstract: This article takes the practical inquiry model as an approach to designing a course on social movements that combines self-directed investigation and group discussion as an avenue for deep learning. For the purpose of developing a case study, a guided approach is provided that allows the students to explore theory on their own and make connections to the case material they discover online. In the process of developing the case study, students are required to journal about their experience and what they discover as they comb through their selected sites. The data can include several elements (e.g., blogs, chat rooms, Facebook, twitter, publications, photos, links to other groups, history, etc.).

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Abstract: The fast-paced nature of the healthcare setting, coupled with the number of allied professionals involved, demands accurate and concise written communication. It is imperative that written communication between nursing and allied professionals be clear to ensure that the highest quality of care is provided and that patient safety is maintained. The authors feel the considerations documented by nursing students after reading an interdisciplinary evaluation report have the potential to improve the level of care provided to a patient and the patient’s experience of the care, as well as the student’s knowledge regarding allied healthcare. Students noted that reading the report had the potential to adjust their expectations of the patient’s communication abilities, cognition, or behavior and increase their awareness of the need to modify their own communication skills. If a nursing student understands the possibility of challenges in communicating with patients with communication disorders, this may carryover to future interactions, resulting in better patient care. Understanding patient concerns is critical for nurses, and this data indicates that reading a speech evaluation report provides the nurse with pertinent information.

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Abstract: In this paper, we explored how well prepared pre-service teacher candidates are to develop moral literacy. With the mandate in Ontario schools to deliver character education, we were intrigued by the question: How well prepared are teacher candidates to deliver on this requirement based on pre-service preparation and the realities of classroom practice in public education? The issue of teacher preparation has been raised as a concern in moral and character education literature (Berkowitz & Bier, 2004; Nucci, Drill, Larson, & Browne, 2005). Based on this inquiry we have concluded that pre-service teachers are not well prepared to fulfill the moral literacy requirement of character education because they lack theoretical background knowledge in moral development. Further, we recognize that the in-service training of practicing teachers is of equal importance to ensure a receptive environment exists for pre-service teachers. The implication of this finding is that for pre-service teachers to be equipped to meet Ministry character education expectations in practice, pre-service programs will need to be improved, and practicing teachers will require ongoing professional learning opportunities that value moral literacy development as complimentary and equal to academic development.

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Abstract: The flipped, or inverted, classroom has gained popularity in a variety of fields and at a variety of educational levels, from K-12 through higher education. This paper describes the author’s positive experience flipping a graduate qualitative research methods classroom. After a review of the current literature on flipped classrooms in higher education, the author discusses his reasons for flipping, the steps he took to create the flipped classroom, and the outcomes of the flipped classroom experience. The author evaluates whether flipped learning occurred according to the four pillars of FLIP (FLN, 2014) and discusses suggestions for both future researchers and future classroom flippers.

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